RI’s Cannabis King and Wife Had More Than 1,000 Phone Calls & Texts With Accused Drug Dealer
Monday, December 05, 2022
Gerry McGraw is the President and CEO of Rhode Island’s largest compassion center, selling millions of dollars of cannabis annually.
He has served as a founding member of the National Cannabis Industry Association since 2011.
This year McGraw was awarded one of the highly coveted retail cannabis-selling licenses by the State of Rhode Island.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAnd, according to Rhode Island State Police (RISP) documents, McGraw and his wife made more than 1,000 phone calls with Dino Guilmette — an individual with strong ties to La Cosa Nostra who is now facing multiple drug charges.
McGraw's Big Life
McGraw, before becoming a major player in medical marijuana, worked for his father's business -- J&J Electrical in Warwick.
Gerry and Elizabeth McGraw live in a mansion in Cranston on the bay, complete with a waterfront swimming pool. Their travels and parties are splashed across social media -- flooding Facebook and Instagram with exotic destinations and luxurious celebrations.
The McGraws are socially close to Guilmette and, according to Rhode Island State Police documents, have other links tied to the illegal drug industry.
“Source Three advised that Guilmette is very close with an individual positively identified as Gerald McGraw, a.k.a 'Gerry,' and his wife, Elizabeth McGraw….Source Three advised that he repeatedly seen [sic] Guilmette socializing with Gerald and Elizabeth McGraw on their boats and at restaurants in the state of Rhode Island,” according to RISP Detective Lynch.
As GoLocal reported in August 2022, Guilmette, age 44, is now facing a series of charges after an investigation that began two years ago -- sparked initially by a RISP informant. Guilmette had previously made global news for his relationship for having fathered a child with Aaron Hernandez’ former fiancée Shayanna Jenkins.
Former New England Patriots star Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2015. Hernandez died, reportedly by suicide, in 2017.
The criminal case information — signed by Assistant Attorney General Joseph McBurney and officially submitted to Providence Superior Court on July 18, 2022 — named Guilmette in ten counts stemming from an alleged offense date of November 10, 2021.
According to court documents, a pre-trial conference is now scheduled for January 2023.
Court records show that on August 4, 2022, Guilmette (who is being represented by John Calcagni and Leah Janine Boisclair) filed a motion to dismiss — which was denied.
On October 11, 2020, Guilmette appeared at his arraignment and pleaded not guilty with Justice Melissa Darigan presiding. Bond was set at $5,000 personal recognizance.
Two of the counts ultimately were not charged; one of the remaining counts was a misdemeanor, and the other seven were felonies.
The felony charges allege that Guilmette unlawfully delivered a controlled substance — Lorazepam — in violation of state law; that he conspired to violate the state’s Uniformed Controlled Substances Act by agreeing to deliver a controlled substance (Lorazepam); that he “did knowingly make a false material declaration” to Rent Relief RI in violation of state law; that he conspired to commit an unlawful act in violation of state law; that obtained money over $1,500 from Rent Relief RI by false pretenses; that he conspired to obtain the money under false pretenses; and that he conspired to give false documentation to an agent of Rent Relief RI in violation of state law.
RISP documents secured by GoLocal via an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request outline how an informant tipped off the State Police -- and how an investigation by the RISP led to the series of felony charges.
Disturbance at McGraw's Home Involving Dino Guilmette
GoLocal sought a copy of the police report of an incident at the McGraws' home involving the couple and Guilmette.
Cranston Police refused to provide a copy of the report claiming that under the Access to Public Records Act, “Specifically those reports are exempt from public disclosure…Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy…”
But Guilmette was been a target of the RISP.
“Once Guilmette was identified as a suspected narcotics trafficker, your Affiant [RISP's Lynch] sought the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). DEA submitted legal corresponence to AT&T requesting call detail records, text detail records and subscriber information for Target Telephone I for the time periods of June 27, 2020 — July 26, 2020, October 12, 2020 — November 10, 2020, March 29, 2021 — April 28, 2021, and July 17,…
Connection between Gerry and Elizabeth McGraw with Guilmette and Raymond Jenkins of Organic Bees. Affidavit by RISP Detective Lynch
RISP’s Lynch, in his affidavit, links Guilmette as a “Consultant” to Organic Bees. One a group text between Guilmette and Raymond Jenkins -- the texts were concerning their involvement with Organic Bees and the “courtesy extended from both Gerald and Elizabeth McGraw to resolve contractional issues."
Jenkins pleaded nolo contendere on July 29, 2021, to one count of Perjury and received two years probation with two years suspended sentence.
RISP sought court approval of wiretap intercepts between Guilmette and a number of individuals, including Gerald and Elizabeth McGraw; Matthew "Matty" Guglielmetti, the underboss of the New England-based Patriarca crime family of La Cosa Nostra; and Richard "Ricky" Dion another known La Cosa Nostra associate and close friend of Guilmette.
McGraw and Guilmette Face Very Different Futures
Now, McGraw moves to forward with the biggest cannabis empires in Rhode Island.
Guilmette is facing a pretrial hearing on seven felony charges in January of 2023.
McGraw did not respond to numerous attempts for requests to comment.
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